Danny Phantom: Metamorphosis
by Austin Seville
Summary: Danny gets frustrated by the lack of improvement in his powers as of late. How will he deal with it?


It was- for once- a calm evening in the city of Amity Park, the ghost capital of the world. Danny Fenton, world renowned hero and half-ghost, sat on his new bedroom balcony with his girlfriend of two years, Sam Manson. The teens, now 16, watched the sunset above their heads as they held hands. Sam rested her head on Danny's shoulder, his arm draped around her. It was like a scene from a sappy romance, but they couldn't have cared less.

"Isn't the sunset beautiful tonight?" Sam asked, staring up at the clear, black sky. Danny was brought back to reality by the remark, momentarily turning his gaze to the sky above.

"Don't get me wrong, I love space," the would-be astronaut replied, "But right now, I have something far more beautiful to look at." As much as she hated such corny lines, Sam couldn't help but turn scarlet.

"That's sweet, Danny..." she admitted, "But one of these days that line _will_ come back to haunt you." Her usual tone of disdain was not present. Danny smirked, amused by her annoyed response.

"And how are you planning on haunting a..." He stopped as a familiar vibration went off in his pocket. "Ghost…" Sam glared knowingly.

"Leaving early _again_?" she asked. Danny was no less disappointed as he stood and transformed into his famous alter ego, Danny Phantom. He pulled out his phone, which had received an alert from the Global Anti-Ghost Agency (GA2). Tucker Foley, the mayor of Amity Park, secretly ran this organization from an ectoranium-lined bunker under city hall.

"Yes; I'm sorry, Sam," Danny replied, "They need me in… Nevada, it seems. Want a souvenir?" Sam's eyes widened at the sound of the state alone.

"I'd love something from Gothapalooza 3!" she replied excitedly. Danny smirked, suppressing a chuckle.

"Done," he promised, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Sam smiled and nodded, although inwardly she wasn't happy.

"Okay. Get going before you're late," she urged. Taking one last look at his love, Danny flew off towards city hall and a teleporter ride to the desert. Meanwhile, Sam headed downstairs and was reminded by silence that none of the other Fenton family members were home. With plenty of time left before her curfew, Sam decided to visit the ghost lab. Her attention was immediately drawn to the portal to the Ghost Zone. Silently, she pulled out a familiar old photo.

"It's been two years, and I still worry about him…" she murmured, staring at the image of Danny just before his life-altering accident. This wasn't her only concern. She and Danny had gone on almost 30 dates, but never managed to finish a single one. "Sometimes, I wish _I_ was a ghost…" Sam muttered, "It'd be hard, but… we'd be together, and that alone is worth it."

Ironically, it was just then that something- she couldn't be sure what- tripped a breaker and plunged the lab into darkness. Sam cursed Jack before feeling her way through the lab towards the fuse box. It took great effort to cross the room without knocking anything over, what with all the beakers and test tubes lying around. Finally, she came within a yard of the panel only to have the lights flash on and reveal Danny standing there with a smile.

"Y-You're back?" Sam sputtered. Danny nodded.

"Yeah; false alarm," he explained, his face changing to one of concern, "You want to talk about something?" Sam looked nervously at her feet.

"Yeah, I do..." she answered. Danny led her to a pair of seats nearby, pulling her close as they prepared to overcome another bump in life's long road.

* * *

Sam Manson, wearing a self-customized suit almost identical to the one Danny had worn that fateful night, stood in front of the Fenton Portal. Danny had powered down the device- his biometrics were required- and reset it so it was as close as possible to the state it had been prior to his accident. He and Sam had, in their long talk, decided that it was for the best if she was given her own ghost powers.

"Ready, Sam?" Danny asked, his voice hoarse with worry. The decision had been a hard one, and they both knew the risks being taken.

"As I'll ever be," the goth teen replied. Danny and Sam paused for one last kiss- just in case- before Sam stepped into the deactivated portal. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Sam," Danny immediately responded. Smiling, Sam stepped into the portal and turned towards the panel on the left side.

"Here goes everything," she remarked. The 'on' button was pressed quickly, before she could have any second thoughts. Immediately, the portal came to life, and Sam was zapped much like Danny years before. The effects were almost instantaneous, and all appeared to have gone just as the two teens had expected. Stumbling out of the now-active portal, Sam collapsed into Danny's waiting arms.

"Did… did it work?" she asked weakly. Danny nodded, holding her close out of worry. Sam tried to lighten the mood despite having almost passed out. "How do I look?" she asked worriedly.

"Human or ghost, you're beautiful either way," Danny spoke softly. Sam blushed lightly, wrapping her arms weakly around her love. They remained this way for a few minutes as Sam slowly regained strength. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was on her feet again.

"So, when do we start training?" she asked eagerly. Danny chuckled as he helped her up the stairs.

"We can start tomorrow, once you've gotten some rest," he promised, "Now come on, we've gotta get you home."

* * *

A few days later, Danny and Sam- who was catching on very quickly- were engaged in a fight with none other than Skulker. One of Danny's most dedicated foes, the robot-piloting ghost put up a fierce fight against the two Phantoms. With Sam still learning, Skulker gained the upper hand by pulling a trick that separated his two adversaries from each other. Sam was left wide open and had yet to learn how to generate a barrier to protect herself!

"Sam, no!" Danny cried, trying to reach her as quickly as possible. Skulker fired a horde of rockets at her, which left her paralyzed in fear. Completely defenseless, Sam was relieved to see Danny leap in front of her and create a shield just in time. Clearly Skulker had been upgrading his arsenal, however, as the shield was shattered by the rockets and left Danny beaten and bruised. Sam would have to finish this fight alone.

"Touching, the ghost boy sacrifices himself for his girlfriend," Skulker remarked with faux sympathy. Sam glared daggers through him. "Aww, what are you gonna do? Burn a hole through me with your glare?" Skulker taunted. Suddenly, Sam did just that as ghost rays reminiscent of Danny's ice beams fired from her eyes. These, however, were not ice but rather very hot, blue flame. Skulker's suit melted under the heat, leaving him exposed.

"Did I just…?" Sam sputtered as Skulker tried to retreat, "Oh no you don't!" Grabbing the Fenton Thermos, Sam pushed her thoughts aside for the moment and sucked Skulker inside. Now that he was dealt with, she crouched and lifted Danny's unconscious form off the cold pavement. "Please be okay…" she murmured, flying off towards the hospital.

* * *

Danny, as it turned out, was admitted to the hospital that night for observation. His family, along with Tucker, visited and were relieved that he was, for the most part, fine. Sam's parents reluctantly allowed her to spend the night with him, much to her delight. However, once their visitors had gone home, the smile Danny had worn for hours immediately faded. Worried by the absence of her boyfriend's usual cheer, Sam spoke up.

"You okay, Danny?" she asked. The famed halfa sighed.

"Yeah, it's just… what happened today…" he started. Danny paused and gathered his thoughts. "Skulker should be a relatively easy opponent. Maybe a little challenging, but not much," he explained, "Why, then, were my attacks only mildly effective and my shield unable to block even his most basic attack?" Sam shrugged.

"Well he _did_ appear to have upgraded since your last fight," she reminded him.

"Still… I should be stronger than that…" Danny moaned. It was at that very moment that a headline on TV caught Sam's eye. Danny followed her gaze to the breaking news story, and immediately let out a scowl.

"Phantom Failure?" he growled, "Do you people realize just how badly you need me?" Sam grabbed his shoulder, her touch calming the irate halfa.

"Easy, Danny," she responded, "Getting angry isn't going to help." Danny sighed.

"I know…" he apologized. The raven-haired teen let out a sigh. "You know what I really need right now? A vacation…" Sam grinned toothily.

"Well, you do owe me a souvenir from Gothapalooza 3…" she reminded him. Danny smiled; he so loved when Sam went along with things.

"Well then," he announced, "We ride at dawn!"

* * *

"What do you mean he checked out already?" Maddie Fenton demanded, all but screaming at the hospital receptionist.

"Mr. Fenton was cleared by his doctor and left the hospital early this morning," the receptionist explained. Maddie shook her head.

"That's not possible; he hasn't come home, so he must be here!" she insisted. Jazz looked on in horror while Jack merely feasted on some breakfast beef jerky. "Where is my son?"

"I honestly wish I knew, ma'am," the receptionist answered. Maddie sighed and turned away from the woman, looking at Jazz.

"Fenton search party?" the young redhead guessed. Maddie nodded.

"Beef jerky anyone?" Jack asked. Jazz face-palmed and led the way out of the hospital.

* * *

The August 1st edition of the Amity Park News was much the same as every other issue for the past two months. The front page covered a ghostly attack that the understaffed GA2 was unable to control, the business section announced the latest stores leaving town, and the 'Daily Living' section went over another ghost attack survival technique. Sports, the only normal section, posted its umpteenth column about motocross' new rookie superstar, 'the Phantom'.

Mayor Tucker Foley read about the strange racer for what had been so many consecutive mornings he'd lost count. Perhaps it was the name, the black and white racing gear, or maybe the fact he was never seen without his helmet. Regardless, something about the teen racing sensation piqued Tucker's interest. One picture from a week-old article was most interesting, showing the Phantom leaving a race with a female companion.

"Any new intel on this guy?" Tucker asked, turning to his secretary. The woman checked her computer for new reports from GA2.

"Only one new item, sir. Surveillance tapes caught some hair sticking out below the helmet," she answered.

"What color was it?" Tucker asked. His secretary paused.

"White, sir," she answered. This new bit of evidence made Tucker's conclusion all the more convincing. However, he would need more concrete evidence before he could convince GA2's board members to investigate.

"Let me know if anything else turns up today," he instructed. The secretary nodded, and then suddenly went pale.

"Sir, red alert from FentonWorks!" she gasped. Tucker's eyes widened, and his chair was left spinning in place as he dashed off to gather GA2's forces.

* * *

Tucker rode in one of several anti-ghost vehicles as he and a group of agents neared what was once the home of Danny Phantom. As the building came into view, Tucker's mouth hung agape. Every defensive apparatus the building had was either destroyed or hanging from its mount like a limp noodle. The street was covered in charred spots and there was some additional property damage. To top it all off, Jack, Maddie and Jazz Fenton were tied up and being forced to listen to a long-winded monologue courtesy of the returning Vlad Plasmius.

"Ah, Mayor Foley, right on schedule." Vlad hadn't even turned to see that Tucker was there. Suddenly, a copy blasted the vehicles from behind, its powerful ghost ray reducing the mayor's vehicle to rubble. Exposed, Tucker was captured and tied up alongside the Fenton's. The GA2 agents entered a stand-off with Vlad, who merely chuckled in amusement.

"Ah, it truly is a shame young Daniel isn't here to see this," Vlad spoke to no one in particular, "I had always hoped to see the look on his face when… what in blazes is that?" A low rumble turned slowly into a loud roar as a black and white, dual-sport motorcycle charged towards the scene. Tucker was able to identify the Phantom as well as a female passenger, both dressed in black and white as usual.

The bike came to a stop several yards down the street, both passengers dismouting as the vehicle was left sitting on a kickstand. For a moment there was silence as the two mysterious riders removed their helmets. Vlad joined his hostages in a gasp of shock when they found themselves suddenly face to face with Danny Phantom and Sam… Phantom?

"Really? _She_ has ghost powers now?" Vlad questioned, surprised. Four sets of eyes examined Sam, who had changed greatly since they'd last seen her. Now clad in black and white biker gear, fingerless black gloves and white combat boots, Sam was more fearsome looking than ever before. She had also gotten her ears pierced and wore a pair of gothic earrings under her snowy white hair.

Danny, on the other hand, wore black, washed-out jeans, a black t-shirt bearing his custom 'D' logo, a black and white motorcross jacket, gloves, and a pair of black and white sneakers. Stubble was seen on his usually clean face. Danny's eyes glowed with anger over Plasmius' comments, along with both of his fists.

"You know, _she_ has a name," he growled. Plasmius shrugged off the response.

"Name or not, she's just a rookie," he taunted, "I'm not impressed." Sam suddenly cut into the conversation with a fiery ghost ray to Plasmius' face.

"Don't call me a ROOKIE!" she roared. Danny smirked.

"Yeah, not the best choice of words," he taunted. As Plasmius created a large crater in the road, Danny split into two copies; one untying the hostages and the other fighting alongside Sam. Vlad wasn't down long, quickly rising from the asphalt.

"Cutting your power in half when facing me?" he questioned, "And here I thought at least _you_ were a threat." Danny's expression never wavered.

"Tell me, Vlad, what do you think we've been doing for two months?" he asked, "Kissing each other to death while watching Netflix?" Vlad raise a finger with the intent of making some kind of point, but it drooped as Danny finished his statement.

"Yes?" he admitted. Sam rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Wrong answer!" she growled. Suddenly, huge vines sprouted from nowhere and entangled Vlad, trapping him and draining his power.

"I guess what they say is true; practice makes perfect," Danny remarked, sucking Vlad into a Fenton Thermos. Just as he clipped the device back to his belt, a dimensional rift opened above the street. Sam, Tucker and the Fenton's watched as another Fenton Thermos dropped from the portal, clattering to the ground in Vlad's crater. Danny could have sworn he caught a glimpse of Clockwork before the portal closed; this would certainly be interesting.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," Tucker begged. Danny shook his head.

"I wish I could," he apologized, "Get everyone to safety; this isn't going to be pretty." Tucker rounded up the Fenton's and the remaining GA2 agents, and soon the group was retreating inside FentonWorks. In the meantime, Danny charged some sort of ecto attack- or so it seemed. Just as the others got out of range, he fired out a massive, domed shield that encompassed a whole city block. This barrier not only kept civilians out of the area, but prevented enemies from escaping. Maintaining the shield with ease, Danny turned his attention to Sam.

"I guess you were right; that does come in handy once in a while," he remarked. Sam grinned, but her response was cut off by the sound of the Fenton thermos exploding. Standing up amidst the remnants was none other than Dan Phantom AKA Dark Danny. Dan was an evil Danny from an alternate future, and technically a fusion of Danny's and Vlad's ghost sides. As strong as training had made him, the real Danny wasn't enthusiastic about this battle.

"Hello, Daniel," Dan taunted, "Guess who's back and stronger than ever?" The real Danny was in no mood for small talk.

"Ditto, Dan," he replied, "Cut the small talk and let me kick your ass." It was then that Dan noticed his younger counterpart's girlfriend.

"Wait, really? You fell in love with _her_?" he questioned, appalled. The ecto energy building around Danny's fists instantly doubled in size.

"Yeah, not the best choice of words," Sam retorted. Dan seemed amused by his younger self, silently daring the boy to take his best shot. This came in the form of a massive ghost ray as big around as a basketball. Dan was blasted back by the impact, but prevented a nasty landing by phasing through the pavement. Seconds later, he was thrust up from the ground, coiled in one of Sam's anti-ghost vines.

"Nice move, but I can still sense you while you're intangible," she remarked. Dan furrowed his brow and- with great effort- broke free of the energy-sapping plants.

"I suppose I underestimated you," he admitted, "Not bad for a rookie." The twitch of Sam's eye was all Dan saw before another massive ghost ray was thrown his direction. This time he dodged, and in doing so noticed Danny's shield. "Oh, of course, and this time it's a power I don't even have to begin with!" he complained. Danny smirked; perhaps this was an advantage.

"Here, let me introduce you to another!" he remarked. He flew at Dan, countered several moves and forced a split-second opening for attack. Seizing this opportunity, he fired an icy ghost ray that froze Dan almost instantly. His adversary resembled an iceberg after the blast, but quickly broke free after a few moments of shock. Just as he escaped his encasement, however, he was sent flying upward by an ecto uppercut from Sam.

"OH COME ON-!" he started to complain, but was silenced by his impact with Danny's shield. The barrier held strong, electrocuting Dan and flinging him back to the ground. The evil ghost quickly recovered, sending a pair of ghost rays flying back at his opponents. Danny phased through one, which harmlessly impacted the pavement. The other missed Sam completely.

"Nice aim," she taunted. As she spoke, the second ray bounced off a car mirror and struck her in the back. Dan grinned evilly at the sight.

"Thank you," he toyed. Danny was fuming now, as the powerful blast had been enough to knock Sam out of the battle, albeit temporarily. Despite excelling offensively, it didn't take much to make her revert to human form and her body still couldn't recover as fast as Danny's. Speaking of her boyfriend, the aforementioned halfa weighed his options as the odds of victory were skewed in Dan's favor. "What's wrong, Daniel? You need your girlfriend-!" Dan started.

"THAT is where I draw the line," Danny cut in. Dan just grinned evilly.

"Draw the line?" he questioned, "Do you honestly think that you're strong enough alone to kill me?"

"No, I don't," Danny replied, "I KNOW I AM" Suddenly, a sky blue ring appeared around Danny, as if he were reverting to his human form. However, as it spread over his body, only more minor changes took place. His ecto energy turned the same color as his ice rays, and the D logo on his shirt now cracked outward with a blue glow. His bangs, which usually stuck outward, now did so whilst looking like miniature flames licking at the air.

Dan sensed the spike in Danny's energy levels- they'd almost tripled- and immediately changed tactics. With that kind of raw power, he'd have to wear Danny down with strategic moves while avoiding direct hits. Sam, meanwhile, looked on as her boyfriend used his new hyper form for the first time in a real battle. He had discovered this form during their training, but had refrained from using it as it was about as energy efficient as an eighteen wheeler.

Danny charged at his adversary with all the appearance of an angry combatant recklessly trying a full frontal assault. Dan charged up his right fist and attempted to beat Danny back when he came within arms length. Sam smirked as the fist sailed right through her boyfriend; Dan hadn't counted on his younger self actually practicing strategy and tactics for once in his life. Shocked and left wide open to attack, the evil ghost could barely get out the word 'oops'.

A powerful, two-handed ghost ray struck Dan straight in the chest, sending him barrelling backwards from its immense power. To add insult to injury, the evil ghost slammed into Danny's barrier again and was promptly electrocuted a second time. Danny wasn't about to show mercy, knowing that the only way to end this was to finish off Dan once and for all. For the first time in his ghost fighting career, the Fenton thermos was not an option.

The evil ghost recovered just in time to dodge a flying fist from Danny, whose maximum flight speed had increased as well. The younger Phantom quickly turned around, straight into an ecto sucker punch. Danny immediately slammed into his own barrier, and the results shocked both combatants. While not electrocuted by the barrier, being hit by its generator neutralized the barrier and thus destroyed it. Dan had to hold back laughter from the sight of it all.

Regaining his composure, Dan decided to go for his trump card. Taking a slight gamble, he used a ghostly wail attack in the hopes of returning Danny to at least his normal ghost form. What he didn't count on was his younger counterpart catching on and using his own. Not only was Danny now able to use the attack without draining himself, but it overpowered Dan's and send him flying into a permanently shuttered storefront.

"That all you got?" Dan mumbled moments later. He emerged from the storefrunt, clearly weakened by the attack. Danny smirked; he had a feeling that victory was at hand.

"You wish," he taunted. The halfa launched forwards, aiming an ecto-powered fist at Dan's skull. The evil ghost went intangible, and Danny flew right through him. A bit surprised by the move, Dan turned to question the halfa. As he turned tangible again, however, he got the answer to his question in the form of a white combat boot to the skull.

"Hey there, miss me?" Sam toyed. She had finally recovered enough to transform, and she'd be damned if she was going to miss out on finishing off this guy. Now dazed, the evil ghost couldn't dodge an ice beam that froze him solid, nor the ray of fire following it. The teens finished up with a pair of simultaneous ghost rays, leaving Dan severely beaten and battered. Danny was reminded of his counterpart's appearance before he'd originally sucked him into the thermos.

"Deploy Fenton ghost shield," Danny spoke, noting his and Sam's positions in front of the house. Sam was too surprised to move, and merely watched as a green wall separated her from the battle. Dan attempted one last mind game with his younger foe.

"Aww, trying to protect your girlfriend, are we?" he toyed. Danny glared daggers at his foe.

"Admittedly, yeah," he retorted, "From this!" Dan's eyes widened as Danny went all-in, charging up a massive orb of ecto energy around his body. "Now LEAVE US ALONE!" Danny released the energy in the form of a huge wave spreading out in all directions. The attack was more powerful than even he'd expected, but the ghost shield still held up admirably. Dan yelled out in pain as he was vaporized by the attack, which spread throughout the city before dissapating.

Holding his head from the overuse of ecto energy, Danny involuntarily returned to his normal ghost form. The shield was deactivated from inside his house, and then Tucker, Jazz and his parents came running out. All three of them, along with Sam, were completely blown away by what Danny had just done.

"Dude, that attack was off the charts! You beat Dan and vaporized every ectopus and minor ghost within city limits!" Tucker exclaimed. He had his PDA out, which showed a map of Amity Park with spectral signatures showing up like radar dots. Major ghosts- such as the Fright Knight, or even just Skulker- were still around, but had clearly been weakened.

"That's going to send out a pretty powerful message to the ghost community; you and Amity Park are not to be messed with," Jazz added, smiling. Danny blushed from all the praise.

"Hey, how are you still in ghost form after using all that energy?" Maddie inquired. Danny smiled; he'd hoped to explain his new abilities more.

"Sam and I spent those two months we were gone training our powers," he answered, "I'm a lot more efficient with my ecto energy now, so I can maintain this form pretty easily."

"Plus he got an awesome hyper form, if you hadn't noticed," Sam gushed. Danny turned crimson in embarrassment. Maddie's look suddenly went stern.

"Speaking of those two months, why didn't you e-mail or anything?" she questioned, "We were worried sick!" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"We did e-mail you," he assured her, "You didn't get them?"

"That would explain why they never replied, genius," Sam retorted. Tucker suddenly typed fuiously into his PDA for a solid minute.

"It looks like someone- probably Vlad- hacked your e-mail accounts to try and keep you away as long as possible," he remarked once he stopped. Sam crossed her arms in disgust.

"That's way uncool," she growled. Danny, meanwhile, was a bit more nervous about this development.

"So, does that mean we're not in trouble?" he asked. Maddie paused for a moment, mulling it over. Jack stared at her expectantly.

"...only because it was Vlad and I know this would piss him off," she finally conceded. Danny breathed a sigh of relief; things were looking up after all. Having already procured the souvenir he owed Sam, all that was left was to finish a date for once.

A couple nights later, Danny took Sam to dinner before they went for a stroll around the small lake in the park. As they walked under the stars, the two lovers held hands and talked about whatever came to mind. Just as they made it back to the parking lot and their matching dual-sport motorcycles, Danny's phone cut in once again. The raven-haired teen checked the message he'd received before facing his girlfriend.

"So, where you off to this time?" Sam questioned. Danny smirked.

" _We're_ going to Paris," he announced. Sam's raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Paris, France," he added, ruling out the town of the same name in Texas. Sam breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled eagerly.

"The city of love, eh?" she asked, "Ever been there before?"

"Now that you mention it…" Danny thought back, "This is, ironically, the first time they've sent me there." Sam was nothing less than overjoyed.

"Well, let's kick some ghost butt and then maybe we can do a little sight-seeing afterwards," she suggested. Danny nodded in agreement.

"For once, we're finishing this date," he confirmed. Without further ado, the two changed into their ghost forms and rode off towards city hall. The real date was just beginning.


End file.
